T283 蓮生活佛英文文集51－無上密與大手印Blessings of the Guru on Mahamudra1
- 詳細內容
- 分類：大燈新書上市
■Book 51─Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra
■Written by Master Sheng-yen Lu
■Chapter seven
For more information, please call +1(510)473-4818 or fax +1(510)437-1987.
Contact Address: 3440 Foothill Blvd. Oakland CA 94601, U.S.A.
Anyone who practices Mahamudra must pray to his guru for blessings prior to entering each meditation session. The following is how Tibetan lamas recite the Lineage Prayers of Invocation [Dorje Chang Thungma]:
DOR JÉ CHANG CHEN TÉLO NARO DANG
Great Vajradhara, Tilopa, Naropa,
MARPA MILA CHÖ-JE GAMPOPA
Marpa, Milarepa, and Lord of the Dharma, Gampopa,
DÜSUM SHÉ JA KÜN KHYEN KARMAPA
Knower of the three times, omniscient Karmapa,
CHÉ ZHI CHUNG GYE GYÜ PA DZIN NAM DANG
Lineage holders of the four major and eight minor schools:
DRI TAK TSAL SUM PALDEN DRUKPA SOK
Drikung, Taklung, Tsalpa, glorious Drukpa and others;
ZAB LAM CHAK GYA CHÉ LA NGA NYÉ PÉ
You who have thoroughly mastered the profound path of Mahamudra,
NYAM MÉ DRO GÖN DAKPO KAGYÜ-LA
Unrivaled protectors of beings, the Dakpo Kagyü,
SOLWA DEB SO KAGYÜ LAMA NAM
I pray to you, the Kagyü lamas,
GYÜ PA DZIN NO NAM TAR JIN GYI LOB
Grant your blessings that we may follow your tradition and example.
ZHEN LOK GOM GYI KANG PAR SUNG PA ZHIN
It is taught that detachment is the foot of meditation.
ZÉ NOR KÜN LA CHAK ZHEN MÉ PA DANG
Attachment to food and wealth disappears,
TSEN DIR DÖ TAK CHÖ PAY GOM CHEN LA
To the meditator who gives up his ties to this life;
NYE KUR ZHEN PA ME PAR JIN GYI LOB
Grant your blessings so that attachment to ownership and honor will cease.
MÖ GÖ GOM GYI GO WOR SUNG PA ZHIN
It is taught that devotion is the head of meditation,
MEN NGAK TER GO JÉ PAY LAMA LA
The lama opens the door to the profound oral teachings;
GYÜN DU SOLWA DEB PAY GOM CHEN LA
To the meditator who always turns to him,
CHÖ MIN MÖ GÜ KYÉ WAR JIN GYI LOB
Grant your blessing that uncontrived devotion be born from within.
YENG MÉ GOM GYI NGÖ ZHIR SUNG PA ZHIN
It is taught that unwavering attention is the body of meditation.
GANG SHAR TOK PAY NGO WO SO MA DÉ
Whatever arises is the fresh nature of thought;
MA CHÖ DÉ KAR JOK PAY GOM CHEN LA
To the meditator who rests in naturalness,
GOM JA LO DANG DRAL WAR JIN GYI LOB
Grant your blessings that meditation be free from intellectualization.
NAM TOK NGO WO CHÖ KUR SUNG PA ZHIN
The essence of thought is dharmakaya, it is taught.
CHI YANG MA YIN CHIR YANG CHAR WA LA
Thoughts are nothing whatsoever, and yet they arise in the mind;
-To Be Continued-
T282 蓮生活佛英文文集51－無上密與大手印Fourfold Mindfulness of Nagarjuna 3
- 詳細內容
- 分類：大燈新書上市
■Book 51─Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra
■Written by Master Sheng-yen Lu
■Chapter Six
For more information, please call +1(510)473-4818 or fax +1(510)437-1987.
Contact Address: 3440 Foothill Blvd. Oakland CA 94601, U.S.A.
In principle, the arising of the five aggregates stems from a defiled thought, which results in the confusion between true reality and delusion. In turn, this forms the aggregate of consciousness. From consciousness arise the aggregates of form, sensation, conception and habitual action. They overlap one another and arise in stages.
Generally speaking, it is necessary to first eliminate the aggregate of form before attempting to eliminate all five aggregates. The root of all aggregates stems from the rise of discursive thoughts. Sakyamuni Buddha once said, “The five aggregates are rooted in delusions, and yet the inherit nature of our true mind is pristine and sublime. It is inherently pure and perfect, and is devoid of thoughts and contamination. Even though the true essence of our self-awareness was originally wonderful and clean, when a single thought drifts due to karmic affinity, the five aggregates arise, and the drifting thought subsequently transforms into delusion.”
For this reason, the Buddhist practitioner of Mahamudra must recognize the delusion and emptiness of the five aggregates by being mindful of the suffering caused by emotion. Once he sees through this, he will naturally develop disdain for the cycle of life and death. Ultimately, he will understand the mindfulness of emotion afflictions, contemplate on the five aggregates, long for the genuine bliss of nirvana, and no longer foolishly attach to the burning house of the three lower realms.
Mindfulness of the mind - Contemplation on the non-origination and non-extinction of all mental phenomena. Here is a verse: “The nature of phenomena arising from mental conditions is marked by non-origination, non-extinction, non-destruction, non-permanence, non-coming into being, non-going out of being, non-identity, and non-differentiation. With the cessation of all deluded concepts, I pay homage to the buddhas who have expounded the wonderful teachings of tranquility.”
The Buddhist practitioner of Mahamudra should contemplate on the world as being created from the thoughts of sentient beings. This is like the saying, “the three realms are created by the mind, and all phenomena are formed from consciousness.” We must first pacify the discursive mind. Then the six defilements [generated from the tainted six faculties will cease to arise, and the karmic obscurations will be eliminated too. When one arrives at the stage where no thought arises, the six realms of cyclic existence will disappear and one will be liberated from the three lower realms.
The statement “the three realms are created by the mind, and all phenomena are formed from consciousness” illustrates the reality that all phenomena are marked by non-origination and non-extinction. By understanding that “all phenomena are marked by non-origination and non-extinction,” one realizes that “emptiness and illusion are non-dual and undifferentiated. [At the level of realization,] there is no love or hatred, no giving or taking, and no mind of grasping or craving. The mind of equanimity is well engendered and fortified. One will then bring awakening and liberation to oneself and others. That is the perfect realization and complete practice of the bodhisattva's mindfulness of the mind.
Mindfulness of mental phenomena - The Mahamudra practitioner must constantly and vigilantly contemplate on the first three states of mindfulness. One should not take the concepts lightly and practice it with a negligent attitude. Nagarjuna's method of contemplating on the four forms of mindfulness leads to the silencing of all discursive thoughts, thereby help one to gain the great perfection of Mahamudra.
Here's a verse:
One must contemplate on the nature of the dharma realm,
The body, sensations and mind are mental states.
Mahamudra itself is a Dharma.
It expresses the doctrine of the Middle Way.
-End-
T281 蓮生活佛英文文集51－無上密與大手印Fourfold Mindfulness of Nagarjuna 2
- 詳細內容
- 分類：大燈新書上市
■Book 51─Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra
■Written by Master Sheng-yen Lu
■Chapter Six
For more information, please call +1(510)473-4818 or fax +1(510)437-1987.
Contact Address: 3440 Foothill Blvd. Oakland CA 94601, U.S.A.
Compared to others, Nagarjuna's knowledge was most profound and wide-ranging, so he was able to bring Mahayana Buddhism into blossom. He was able to fulfill his bodhisattva mission of propagating the seeds of Buddha-dharma on a large scale.
The history of Nagarjuna's life is infused with many legends. Some Tibetan lamas said that Nagarjuna was born during the first century BCE. Other lamas said that he was born four hundred years after Sakyamuni Buddha entered into pari-nirvana. There was also a saying that Nagarjuna lived for six hundred years. Other sources mentioned that he was still expounding the dharma between the second and third centuries CE.
So, why do I mention Nagarjuna in my writing about Mahamudra? It is because Nagarjuna is the first lineage holder of Vajrayana. He spoke the Dharma to the king of southern India who was committed to the Buddha-dharma, and made Nagarjuna his imperial advisor. Nagarjuna elucidated the doctrines of the Middle Path as found in the Commentary on the Great Prajnaparamita Sastra. These doctrines, he explained, are the Fourfold Mindfulness of Mahamudra.
The Fourfold Mindfulness as taught by Nagarjuna is as follows:
1.Mindfulness of the body - Contemplation on the empty nature of the body.
2.Mindfulness of the suffering caused by emotions - Contemplation on the five aggregates, which are empty in nature.
3.Mindfulness of the mind - Contemplation on the non-origination and non-extinction of all phenomena.
4.Mindfulness of phenomena - Ceaseless contemplation on the first three kinds of mindfulness.
I shall elucidate on this further:
Mindfulness of the body - As Buddhists that practice Mahamudra, it is necessary to remind ourselves to frequently practice mindfulness of the body, visualizing our fathers on our right and our mothers on our left, along with all of our parents, relatives and loved ones in the six realms surrounding us. The hell realm is located the closest to us. Lying further away is the hungry ghost realm. After that is the animal realm, followed by the human realm. Further away is the asura realm, and the furthest is the heavenly realm.
If one does not cultivate the Buddha-dharma, eventually he will become spiritually degenerated. This is true for all sentient beings. All of us who are mindful of ourselves in the physical body know that physical phenomena must undergo the four stages of completion, existence, destruction and finally emptiness. Likewise, everyone is subject to birth, old age, sickness and death. Thus, when observing the mindfulness of the body, it is important to contemplate on the empty nature of the body. As stated in the Diamond Sutra, we must see through the delusion of the physical and egotistical self. The perception of a self, a being, a life, and a soul is essentially empty.
Being mindful of the body means to contemplate on its empty nature. One who is deluded is an ordinary mortal. One who is enlightened is a buddha.
This concept of mindfulness of the body is fundamentally similar to concepts that one first learns in studying Buddhism, and may appear to be “elementary.” Nonetheless, not many people are able to see through the delusion of the body. Many are aware that “all material things will eventually be destroyed, and all living things will age and die,” and that no one is excluded from this natural process. However, those who cannot see through the delusion of the body will continue to pursue fame, fortune and other material things. These deluded people will naturally fall into the three lower realms and will be drawn back into the six realms of samsara.
Thus, constant contemplation on mindfulness of the body involves contemplation on the empty nature of the physical body, and it is the first step in seeking renunciation.
Mindfulness of the suffering caused by emotions - The five aggregates are born from five kinds of discursive thoughts, and are certainly not a part of the nature of True Reality or Suchness. The cause and effect of these two are linked and mutually dependent. The five aggregates are the aggregates of form, feeling, conception, habitual action and consciousness. The aggregate of form refers to physical form. The aggregate of sensation is the feeling caused by the perception of physical objects. The aggregate of conception is the arising of thoughts. The aggregate of habitual action refers to unfocused mental formations and unrefined actions. The aggregate of consciousness is the mental faculty that is responsible for all changes and transformations.
-To Be Continued-
